Freezing Point
by breaktheline
Summary: An unexpected act of kindness by Kaiba goes awry when he and Jounouchi find themselves stranded together in a blizzard. YAOI!
1. Chapter 1

There was absolutely no way Jounouchi could've known there was a blizzard coming.

If there had been any warning signs -- any at _all_ -- he definitely would've noticed them. He's not the most observant of people, but he has eyes. However, there were none. It was cold, sure, and cloudy, but that's to be expected. It was unusually windy, but it's always windy mid-January. Everything had been normal and then he storm blew up in a matter of minutes, thick flakes falling so hard and fast that it was difficult to see through them as the wind escalated into a gale.

For about fifty steps, Jounouchi thought he was probably doomed. They'd find his frozen remains on the side of the road, one icy hand stretched out toward the treacherous sky in an obscene gesture.

Then, out of nowhere a black car had materialized through the swirling snow, headlights cutting through the darkness.

Now he's sitting on a plush leather seat, next to a certain CEO whose eyes are just as cold as the storm outside, and he can't decide if he's better off than before or not.

The view through the windshield is slightly frightening: it's almost impossible to discern that they are, in fact, actually on a road. Jounouchi sneaks a sideways glance at Kaiba, and hopes that he knows what he's doing. Because if not, Jou has seen enough disaster films to know what happens when people try to drive in snowstorms, and it usually involves a lot of screaming and skidding and driving off of cliffs.

Jounouchi really, really hopes Kaiba doesn't drive off of a cliff.

To his left, Kaiba still hasn't said a word. The silence isn't _awkward_, not exactly. Jounouchi isn't entirely sure that Kaiba is capable of awkwardness, honestly. He'd probably laugh in its face as he ground it into the floor with his heel. It isn't awkward, but it's -- pointed. Jounouchi doesn't know if he wants Kaiba to say something, or not. The only sounds are the soft roar of the motor, and the wind whipping against the windows of the car.

_Thanks for picking me up_, Jounouchi wants to say, but the words don't want to leave his mouth. It's just so _unexpected_. This is _Kaiba_ sitting next to him, _Kaiba_ who appeared out of nowhere to snatch him away from the terrible dangers of frostbite and wet socks. And to be completely honest, Jounouchi has absolutely no idea why he would do that. Kaiba isn't really all that fond of him, to put it gently.

_Maybe he does have a heart after all_, Jou thinks with some amount of wonder, _though obviously chained up and hidden from daylight beneath miles of concrete._ Unless, of course, Kaiba's real motive for picking Jounouchi up is to take him somewhere remote and leave him for dead, which isn't entirely out of the question yet. Jounouchi still doesn't know where they are, they could definitely be on the road to barren wilderness. However, that seems moderately unlikely.

Jou wonders briefly if he should thank Kaiba for picking him up, and decides that he'll do it as soon as he's sure of their destination. Just as he's becoming vaguely anxious about the possibility that they really _are_ headed off into the woods, where Kaiba is clearly planning to gut him like a fish and leave him in a ditch, Kaiba speaks. His voice is curt and abrupt, startling Jounouchi out of his thoughts.

"Which way is it to your house?"

"Uh," says Jou, surveying the scene through the windshield. On the left is what looks remotely like some unrecognizable buildings, on the right, trees. Everything is masked nearly to the point of invisibility by the snow. Jounouchi squints futilely out of his window. "I think you go, uh. You know, I'm not exactly sure."

Kaiba's fingers tighten slightly on the steering wheel, and Jounouchi wonders suddenly why he's driving. He'd have thought that Kaiba would consider himself too rich to drive, and have a fleet of drivers at his beck and call. It is puzzling, and probably inappropriate to be thinking about when he's supposed to be divining a way to get home, but Jounouchi never was very good at controlling his thoughts.

"How am I supposed to drive you home," Kaiba is saying, exasperation pulling at the edges of his voice, "if you can't tell me where you live?"

"I can tell you where I _live_," Jounouchi says, unable to keep his temper from flaring up slightly at Kaiba's tone, "I just don't know where we _are_."

"We're on the edge of the west bank," Kaiba tells him with his eyes straight ahead, staring into the snowy darkness. The headlights are reflected in the white, like something staring back at them. Jou swallows.

"Where's the west bank?" he asks, and watches Kaiba's jaw tense. It's not fair, he really doesn't know where they are! He'd been on the right track walking, more or less, it's not like he _asked_ for this.

"You're completely hopeless," says Kaiba brusquely without looking at him. Jounouchi glares at his profile, fingers curling on his thighs.

"It's not my fault that I don't know where we are! You didn't have to drive so long before asking me where to go!"

"I was trying to outrun the storm," Kaiba tells him in a seemingly patient voice, but Jounouchi recognizes from his ever-tightening grip on the steering wheel and the way his lips barely part to let the words out that it isn't just Jou's temper firing up. Those are warning signs, Jounouchi knows it, but it only serves to piss him off more.

"Oh, great job. We're still in the middle of a blizzard _and_ now we're lost, too."

"I'm not lost!" Kaiba snaps, a momentary break in his usually implacable calm. He regains control in an instant, eyes directed pointedly ahead. "I know where we are," he says with his jaw clenched, words sounding slightly crushed, "I just don't know how to get to _your house_. I don't even know why I picked you up, you ungrateful _mutt_. I should've just let you freeze to death."

"Yeah, well, why didn't you?" Jou can't help but ask, hands curled into almost-fists in his lap. He _knows_ he should be grateful to Kaiba for saving his butt, but more overpowering is the desire to punch him right in the mouth. However, that action would probably not be conducive to him getting home in one piece, or them even staying on the road in this madness.

Kaiba doesn't answer, his features tight and furious. Jounouchi doesn't know if he's trying to be mature, or drive responsibly, or if he's just too angry to speak, but Jou still wants to hit him almost more than anything. Instead, he settles for glaring out of the window into the blinding white. Only Kaiba would do this, pick him up in the middle of a snowstorm for the sole purpose of having someone to insult and hypothetically later abandon. Jou'd probably be better off still trudging through the snow, freezing his ass off. At least there wouldn't be anyone next to him calling him names, making him feel inferior and stupid at every turn.

Although, well, it was sort of nice of Kaiba, to stop for him in the first place. He doesn't want to be grateful, because it's _Kaiba_, but he knows he should be.

Jounouchi sighs, and relaxes his fingers with some amount of effort. "Look," he says finally, "if we go to the school, I can get us to my house."

For a moment, he thinks Kaiba is going to yell at him, or at least say something harsh and cutting, which isn't fair at _all_. But instead, Kaiba takes one hand off of the wheel and runs it through his thick hair. "You realize that's miles away, right?" he asks with just the slightest hint of condescension in his voice, as if Jounouchi should've known better than to suggest something so dumb.

If looks could kill, and Jounouchi very much wishes his could, Kaiba would be a very dead man. Of _course_ Jounouchi didn't realize, it's a simple side effect of having absolutely no clue where he is. The pressing need to punch Kaiba is growing again, it had receded momentarily, but his fingernails are beginning to dig once more into his palms. "Of course I know that," he snaps, scowling at his own reflection in the window.

"Then why, pray tell, did you tell me I should drive there? This is a _blizzard_, I'm sure even you realize that driving right now is dangerous."

"I don't -- know where -- we _are_," Jounouchi tells him through gritted teeth, nails cutting red crescent-moon shapes in the skin of his palms. How it is even possible that someone could be so unreasonable, he has no idea. All he knows is that punching is the only viable way to rectify the situation. Kaiba is glaring furiously forward, knuckles white on the wheel.

"Maybe if you paid the slightest bit of attention to our surroundings, that could be resolved! In case you forgot, you do live here."

"Yeah," says Jounouchi, considering actually sitting on his hands to keep them from flying at Kaiba's head, "except I _can't fucking see anything_."

"You are absolutely impossible," Kaiba growls, stepping on the accelerator.

"_I'm _impossible?" asks Jounouchi incredulously. "I can't help my lack of superhuman vision. It was _you_ who picked _me _up, remember?"

"A decision I'm regretting more and more," Kaiba mutters angrily, squinting at the road ahead. Or at least, what Jou assumes is the road ahead. "This is so typical. I should've anticipated this kind of thing from the moment I saw you walking, I should've _known_ not to stop -- "

"Why don't you fucking let me out, then?" Jounouchi spits, one hand already on the door handle. They're going faster now, he recognizes dimly, but it doesn't mean anything to him at the moment. A dull rage has settled around his brain like a haze, making it nearly impossible to think about anything other than how badly he wants to get his hands around Kaiba Seto's throat.

"Maybe I should," Kaiba bites out, and they're _roaring_ through the night now, snow whipping past the windows at lightning speed.

"Then do it!" Jounouchi shouts, pounding his fist against the door, "I can't stand being in here with you for another minute, anyway!"

"So that's the thanks I get for saving your sorry ass?" Kaiba all but shouts back, voice rising in pitch and volume to match Jounouchi's.

"You didn't _save_ me!" yells Jounouchi, completely infuriated at the thought of being in any way indebted to Kaiba, who it is currently his preeminent duty to kick the ever-loving _shit_ out of whenever possible, "I was absolutely fine!"

"Oh, yeah, _fine_," replies Kaiba sarcastically, voice just barely bordering on a yell, "you pathetic puppy, you probably would've frozen to death by morning -- "

"At least that would've been better than this!" Jounouchi yells more or less at the top of his lungs, scrabbling with the door-handle. If he has to choose between jumping out of a moving car into a blizzard and staying in here with fucking Kaiba for one more _second_, he'll take the broken ribs.

"You mongrel idiot, stop that!" Kaiba snarls, reaching over to pull his hand away from the door.

_I hate you!_ Jou is about to shout, the words are on his lips as Kaiba's hand closes over his, but suddenly the terrain beneath the car is different, rough and yet also slick, and Kaiba's eyes widen in a way that scares Jou for reasons he doesn't immediately comprehend. It all seems to be in slow-motion, suddenly, and he wonders vaguely why they aren't driving straight anymore.

And then they're sliding, no, _rocketing_ through the snow sideways, and Kaiba is swearing as he turns the wheel violently, and there's a rushing in Jounouchi's ears which has nothing to do with the wind outside. It's a whirlwind of snow and darkness and black shapes around them and they're spinning on the ice and oh _God_, Jounouchi is too young to die! His elbow knocks hard off of the window and he squeezes his eyes shut, holding on to the door handle for dear life.

Then, all of a sudden, everything is still.

Slowly, Jounouchi pries his eyes open. Outside of the window is completely, completely white. But, that can't be. He looks to the other side of the car to where Kaiba is sitting with his hands still on the wheel, as white and shaking as Jounouchi feels.

"Are you, uh," Jou says, voice more than a little unsteady and anger completely forgotten, "are you okay?"

Kaiba doesn't answer, taking a deep breath and switching the gearshift into reverse. He looks once out of the back window before jamming on the accelerator in reverse so hard that the engine squeals in protest.

The car doesn't budge.

Jou watches as Kaiba unwraps his long fingers from the steering wheel and unbuckles his seatbelt, eyes still on the back window. He can't be going to leave him here, can he? That would be illogical, and crazy, and _mean_ --

"Kaiba!" Jou says, resisting the urge to reach out and grab his sleeve before he can get out of the car. But it's too late, Kaiba's already pulling the door handle and pushing out. Except -- something's wrong. Jounouchi can't exactly tell what, yet, his thoughts feel muddled and disjointed, but something is definitely off, here.

"Fuck," says Kaiba, with real feeling behind it.

"What?" Jounouchi asks, although the answer is already beginning to dawn on him, with slow, seeping horror.

For once Kaiba doesn't treat him with any condescension whatsoever. His eyes are flat, cold, and his voice is the same.

"We're stuck."


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure?" Jounouchi asks, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. People _die_ when they get stuck in blizzards, they freeze or starve or suffocate or have to resort to cannibalism and thus are emotionally scarred for all of eternity --

"Yes, I'm sure," replies Kaiba with none of his usual venom, pulling a cell phone out of his coat pocket. "Now, shut up."

"Oh, you have a phone," Jounouchi says stupidly, even though he'd just been told not to talk. "Oh. That's good. That's really, really good."

"Shut _up_," Kaiba hisses again, flipping the phone open and squinting at the screen. He watches it for a few seconds and then raises it to eye level, moving it back and forth. His eyes narrow as he reaches across Jounouchi with the phone, holding it up to his window.

"What are you -- "

"Shit," says Kaiba, mainly to himself. He stares down at his lap for a moment, then,"I don't have any service here," he tells Jounouchi flatly, closing the phone up and placing it with some force on the dashboard.

"Oh," replies Jounouchi in a small voice, looking at his hands. "So what do we -- "

"I don't _know_," Kaiba snaps at him, turning to face the window.

"Maybe you should try to reverse out again," suggests Jounouchi, trying to control his heartbeat. They can't _actually_ be stuck with no possible hope. He didn't think this was the sort of thing that happened to normal people, and _definitely_ not the sort of thing that happens to someone like Kaiba. If asked about it before tonight, he would've said that Kaiba'd fire the weather, and probably hire some thugs to break its kneecaps while he was at it. However, with the situation staring them in the face, that suddenly seems slightly more unlikely.

"It's useless," says Kaiba, "it'll just waste gas."

"What are we going to do, then?" asks Jounouchi again, biting down on the anxiety in his voice before it can escape. Kaiba doesn't look at him, glaring instead at the steering wheel as he turns the ignition key and pulls it out. The car goes dark and silent, like a sudden power-out.

"What -- what are you _doing_?" Jounouchi demands, rubbing his probably-broken definitely-bruised elbow, which he has just noticed hurts rather a lot. Through the darkness he sees Kaiba glance at him momentarily, then look away.

"We have to conserve gas, I just told you that. Do you want to freeze to death?"

"Oh, I get it," says Jounouchi sarcastically, "we're turning off the heat so we _don't_ freeze to death. Makes perfect sense."

"It would if you thought about it for one damn second," Kaiba growls, looking more and more displeased as Jou's eyes adjust to the dark. Or maybe that's how he looked all along, and now it's just easier to see. "I'm not going to waste my time explaining it to you."

"You don't need to -- " Jou starts angrily, but Kaiba cuts him off, punctuating his words with a sharp hand against the steering wheel.

"How many times do I need to say _shut up_ before you'll do it, you stupid dog?"

All at once, the desire to smash Kaiba's face in comes rushing back with a fiery passion. "I'm not going to shut up, and stop fucking calling me that! You're the one who crashed the car, bastard!" Jounouchi snarls, hands clenched into hard fists at his sides.

Kaiba turns to face him, and Jounouchi can see his eyes flashing through the dark, hard and angry. "I didn't crash, we slid on ice. And it wouldn't have happened at all if you could've kept your goddamn mouth shut for five seconds."

"Oh, so it's _my_ fault," says Jounouchi, and god, but Kaiba's just _asking _for a thrashing, "I wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't kept provoking me!"

Kaiba actually laughs then, which not only throws Jou off-balance but freaks him out him a little, too. Not that he'd ever admit it, of course, but he has to stop himself from shrinking back slightly. In his defense, Kaiba laughing is enough to chill anyone's bones. Especially when it is clearly less of mirth, and more of derision and what seems like slight insanity. Early-onset cabin fever, anyone?

"It's true," defends Jou, unbuckling his seatbelt so he can surreptitiously shift farther away.

"I can't believe I even picked you up in the first place," Kaiba says in a tone that is obviously meant to let Jounouchi know what a momentously bad decision he is now considering that to be. Jou's temper flashes up involuntarily, like a fire in his chest, and he glares at Kaiba.

"I didn't ask you to!" he bristles, seething inside. In fact, he had protested for about five minutes, until Kaiba had given him that dangerous look and said, pointedly, "Get in the car, mutt."

"I know you didn't," replies Kaiba with quiet venom in his voice, and Jou knows he's remembering the circumstances too, "I am merely lamenting the outcome of a situation which, in retrospect, I should've had the foresight to avoid."

"Well, you don't have to be such a dick about it," Jounouchi tells him forcefully. "If it was up to me, I'd have taken my chances with the storm."

Kaiba snorts disdainfully, turning his face toward the window. "Don't be ridiculous," he says, voice low and infuriatingly adult. "You can't walk through a blizzard, especially not when you're a dumb puppy with a hopelessly skewed sense of direction."

Jounouchi really, really wants to hit him. However, this would be a bad move for a few reasons, including but not limited to a) the fact that they are in a very enclosed area, and getting into a fight with someone inescapably bigger than him (no matter how much he hates to admit it) might not be the best idea, and b) his elbow still fucking hurts. Instead, he takes a deep breath, and lets his forehead fall against the cold window.

"Look," he says, and he should really get a fucking _medal_ for his maturity or something, "fighting won't do us any good. We have to figure out something to do."

"There's nothing we _can_ do," Kaiba replies coldly as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, crossing his arms. "We just have to wait until morning, for the sun to melt some of the snow."

"What if it doesn't?" Jou asks, surveying the blank wall of snow outside his window with an unusual mixture of trepidation and surplus anger. Leave it to Kaiba to get them stuck in a goddamn _snowbank_, and then somehow manage to act all high and mighty about it.

"Someone will find us eventually." He doesn't say the obvious, what Jounouchi thought he was going to say from the beginning --_I'm _Kaiba Seto,_ for crying out loud_ -- but something in his tone implies it anyway. Prick.

Jounouchi doesn't ask the question which immediately crops up fearfully in his mind (_what if they don't?_), but the accompanying dread settles down in his mind nonetheless. He really, truly and honestly does not want to freeze to death. He especially doesn't want to freeze to death next to the World's Biggest Jerk, who was probably born frozen inside anyway and will thus just mock him as he dies.

"I don't want to die," Jounouchi says without thinking, his voice embarrassingly high-pitched. Cold has begun to seep into the car, making its way slowly through his layers of clothes and into his bones. The look Kaiba gives him is exasperated, but his voice is surprisingly devoid of contempt.

"We aren't going to die."

The words are confident, leaving no room for argument, and surprisingly, Jounouchi finds himself slightly comforted. Kaiba may be an obnoxious, self-centered bastard, but he always sounds like he knows exactly what he's talking about. Jounouchi has never seen him look uncertain, or in any way unsure of himself. So, if Kaiba doesn't think they're going to die, they probably won't. It's cold comfort, but makes him feel a little better nonetheless.

However, the fact that he isn't going to die doesn't absolve him from an unknown number of hours trapped alone in this tiny little car with Kaiba. There are some fates worse than death.

They sit there in silence for a few minutes, winter sneaking in through the cracks and making Jounouchi shiver. He pulls his jacket tighter around him, and crosses his legs in a way that would at any other time seem unacceptably girly, but is of course alright for heat conservation purposes. How long would it take someone to hypothetically freeze inside a car?

He didn't even see Kaiba glance his way, but suddenly the key is turning in the ignition and steadily warming air is blowing through the vents. Jounouchi gapes at the dashboard for a minute before turning to Kaiba, who is sitting very straight in his seat with his eyes forward, features betraying absolutely nothing. Is it possible? Did Kaiba just do something _nice_?

"Did you -- " he starts, abruptly interrupted by Kaiba's curt voice.

"We can't keep it on for more than half an hour at a time. That's the only way it'll last us all night."

"Okay," replies Jou, still slightly flabbergasted at Kaiba's seeming response to his shivering. It's possible that it was just a coincidence. In fact, that's probably exactly what happened, Jounouchi was shivering because it really was getting cold inside the car, and Kaiba just happened to notice the falling temperature at around the same time. That makes sense. The other possibility is just too weird. He'd think that maybe what it took to draw out Kaiba's deeply-buried kind side was a near-death experience, but for the fact that they'd been fighting after said experience right up to about three minutes ago.

In any case, Jounouchi is glad Kaiba turned on the heat, if only for a limited time. And that's good. He decides for the second time that, since they _are_ stuck here together -- how ever much they may hate each other -- they can at least not be at each other's throats all night. And Kaiba has hypothetically kick-started that by making sure Jounouchi doesn't freeze (at least, that's what he tells himself Kaiba was doing). Jounouchi smiles, feeling mature and adult.

"Alright," he repeats in what he feels is a very pleasant tone, determined to keep from fighting. To his left, Kaiba is turned to face the window, his back cold and rigid.

"Maybe it would be better," he says frigidly, his voice like the icy wind outside, "if we could keep the talking to a minimum."

Jounouchi struggles with a glare -- he was just trying to be _nice_, and show that he agreed with Kaiba's stupid decision! -- and turns to face his own window.

This could turn out to be harder than he thought.


	3. Chapter 3

After awhile, Jounouchi begins to catalogue all of the people who'd be worse to be stuck in here with than Kaiba. He'd actually started out making a list of those he'd _rather_ be with, but when that list became too universal, he'd embarked on this far more difficult endeavor.

So far, he's up to Michael Myers, Emperor Palpatine, and Jack the Ripper. Martha Stewart would probably be annoying as hell, but would she be worse than Kaiba? It's difficult to say. Almost anyone without actual homicidal tendencies wouldn't be worse than Kaiba, in Jounouchi's opinion. And almost anything at all would be better than this cold, stony silence he's been treated to for the past hour -- marked only by the occasional veiled insult when Jou dared to open his mouth -- with of course the notable exceptions of three pretty horrifying maniacs.

And no, the irony of how two of the people he'd less rather be with than Kaiba are fictional is not lost on him.

Jounouchi is just trying to decide whether or not Fran Drescher would be better -- she isn't _that_ bad to look at, but her _voice_! -- when his stomach growls rather obviously.

Oh, yeah. That's why he had been making these lists in the first place, to keep his mind off of his crushing hunger. But, it would seem his body isn't going to take anymore of that.

His stomach growls again almost immediately, loud and insistent. Jou sneaks a look at Kaiba, who has turned his head almost imperceptibly toward the source of the noise.

"I'm hungry," he says defensively, before Kaiba has time to make any kind of nasty comment.

Kaiba just watches him for a moment, eyes shadowed and dark. The car has been off for about ten minutes, now, and it's just starting to get cold again. However, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at Kaiba, who is just as impassive and close-mouthed as ever. Jounouchi isn't entirely sure he can even feel the difference in temperature anyway, made of metal and devoid of all emotion as he is.

"There are some granola bars in the glove compartment," Kaiba says finally, surprising the hell out of Jou.

"Granola bars?" he repeats stupidly, before realizing: food! He is saved from starvation! Jounouchi reaches for the handle and opens the compartment quickly, rifling through the contents. Sure enough, there are three bars all bundled together in a little package, rubber-banded together. Something tells him Kaiba did _not_ put them there, he doesn't seem like a very granola-friendly guy. Nonetheless, Jounouchi is eternally grateful for their existence.

He's halfway through the second one when he realizes that this is probably the only food in the car, and it technically belongs to the person sitting next to him.

"Uh, want some?" he asks thickly around a mouthful of oats and raisins. Kaiba raises his eyebrows, but merely shakes his head.

"It's yours," he replies, crossing his arms and sitting back against the seat.

Silence reigns again for a few minutes as Jounouchi chews as quietly as possible (okay, it was sounding _really loud_, and he knew it was only a matter of seconds before rich-boy over there made some kind of snide remark), mostly while staring at his feet. A kind of epic battle is going on in his head, and it's starting to give him a headache. He swallows, looks at Kaiba, and turns his eyes away again. Kaiba is still staring straight ahead, same as he's been doing for the past -- hour? two hours? -- with his arms folded across his chest. He looks intense, but then, he always looks intense. Not that Jounouchi spends a lot of time cataloguing Kaiba Seto's expressions, or anything. The guy really only has two or three, that's all.

Jounouchi wipes his mouth off, finally, takes a deep breath and says, "Thank you." And, there, it wasn't _that_ bad.

Kaiba's head snaps up to look at Jou, who can't quite meet his eyes. "You're welcome," he says after a moment, before turning back to his silent contemplation.

Jounouchi watches him. He can't _help_ it, really, it's not like there's anything more interesting in here to focus his attention on. And Kaiba doesn't notice, anyway, so there's no harm done.

Jou sits back against his seat, and secretly keeps his eyes turned to the left.

Kaiba has very, very good posture. That's actually one of the first things he ever noticed about him -- besides the conceit, and snobbishness, and affinity for name-calling, that is. His back is always ramrod-straight, shoulders perfectly squared, head held high and proud. Jou has sometimes found himself wondering if there was ever a time in Kaiba's life when he'd slouched. Does he sit like that on Saturday mornings, eating cereal and watching cartoons with his younger brother? Would he sit like that while at the mercy of his enemies, neck straight and eyes perfectly calm? Jou thinks he would.

Jounouchi realizes with some concern that, sometime before he dies, he'd really like to see Kaiba slouch just once.

But it's not, of course, that he spends his time noticing things about Kaiba. He definitely _doesn't_, in fact. There's just some stuff about the guy that really stick out, like this posture thing. And how he always maintains absolute control -- no matter what the situation, he's always completely collected, calm and in control of himself. It doesn't seem like he's actually capable of panic. That's always caught Jounouchi's notice too, though obviously not in an _appealing_ kind of way. Just an, an observational way.

Kaiba inhales deeply, suddenly, uncrossing his arms, and Jounouchi jumps at how aware of this movement he is. Although, it's not like it's _unusual_, they're the only two people in here. His eyes, from what Jou can see of them, look reflective and intense, turned inward, startlingly blue.

Jounouchi swallows, turns away and begins to come up with scenarios in which Kaiba wouldn't sit like his spine was made of solid titanium.

And _no_, for the record, Kaiba has _not_ gotten into his head. He just doesn't have anything better to think about, at the moment. It isn't a big deal.

Now, would he slouch around at the beach? No, he'd definitely be all uptight there, possibly more than usual. Jounouchi doesn't really like the beach all that much either, it's generally more scratchy sand and sunburn than fun. Although, there was this _one_ time, when he was younger -- but everything is better in the soft glow of childhood, especially after years have passed and blurred the messy details, leaving everything poetic and idealized.

Anyway, definitely not at the beach. Probably not in any normal situation, to be completely honest. Though, what about -- Jou's mind hits a sort of snag, all of the sudden, as he considers the thought of Kaiba Seto receiving certain sexual favors. The image comes completely unbidden, making his breath hitch. Alright, well, he thinks, trying to be reasonable about it, _nobody _could sit up perfectly straight at a time like that, not even Kaiba, though of _course_ he would never ever want to find out for himself --

Kaiba clears his throat, suddenly, and Jounouchi realizes that he'd been staring at him again. He feels his cheeks redden slightly as he snaps his eyes forward. No fair! He hadn't been doing it on _purpose_, there are only a limited number of things to look at in this damn car!

Kaiba's still watching him when he glances over, all cold eyes and tight mouth, and he blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind: "Would you do Courtney Love?"

Jou watches as Kaiba blinks, obviously confused. "Would I. . . what?"

"Would you, um," Jounouchi clears his throat, and tries to pretend his face isn't still burning. "Would you, y'know, have sex with her? If the opportunity came up?"

"What kind of question is that?" Kaiba growls, but Jounouchi thinks he can sense slight disquiet behind his usual mask of calm. He looks as though Jou caught him slightly off-guard, which can only be good. Kaiba stares at him for a minute longer before finally saying, "But no, I wouldn't."

"Oh," says Jounouchi, settling back against his seat. "Yeah, neither would I."

He can feel Kaiba watching him but he doesn't look over there, keeping his eyes trained nonchalantly on the dark windshield. He can sense Kaiba's bewilderment, however, and is inexplicably glad for it. It's better when they're talking, anyway, it feels less -- isolated. Jounouchi swallows, still deliberately not looking to his left.

"What about that woman from _The Shining_?"

He can feel Kaiba's eyes on him, and it makes him feel simultaneously uncomfortable and some other nameless, inexplicable thing. He laces his fingers in his lap, and carefully ignores it.

"I've never seen that," Kaiba replies after a moment, and Jounouchi finally sneaks a glance at him. He has his eyes focused vaguely on the space between Jou and the dashboard, and even through the dark, Jounouchi can see the contrasting blue and black of iris and pupil.

"You should," he says, to keep himself from thinking about anything else. "It's a good movie. Well, actually, it's scary as hell, but if you're into that kinda thing, it's good."

"Alright," says Kaiba, with seemingly no hint of condescension in his voice. Probably because Jounouchi has just convinced him that he is, in fact, completely insane, and he doesn't quite know what to make of that knowledge.

Jounouchi yawns, and leans his head against the cold window. Kaiba inhales like he's going to say something, but then doesn't. There is silence between them once more, but it's better, somehow. More friendly, maybe, if Jounouchi can pretend that doesn't sound completely crazy. It's hard to admit, but he likes it better that way.

See, the thing is, he doesn't actually hate Kaiba.

He hates a lot of things _about_ Kaiba -- he can be a complete bastard, to put it lightly -- but he doesn't hate _him_. It doesn't make any sense and is difficult to think about, and even more difficult to try to understand. It has something to do with honor, and rivalry, and challenges, and the way Kaiba won't admit defeat until he's actually unconscious on the ground. And even then, he'll say it was just a fluke.

They fight like cats and dogs, but, Jounouchi thinks with the clarity that only comes in moments of great fatigue, that's what makes it interesting. There's always that _spark_, when they fight or duel or even just make eye contact -- Jou can actually feel it sometimes, in more places than one. It's just because they don't get along, they're more or less polar opposites. And they can't be near each other without fighting.

But Jounouchi doesn't hate Kaiba.

In fact, there's some part of him -- so deeply buried that even _he_ doesn't often consciously realize it -- which is fascinated by Kaiba. The cold facade, the arrogant brilliance, the unshakeable self-control: it intrigues him as much as it repels him. Jounouchi has wondered before if he's ever lost that control, and what it looked like.

However, that is not a line of thought that he is going to be following at this moment. He's tired, and cold, and hungry again.

It's easier to speak, though, with that fluidity that comes from being very sleepy. "You know, I would give absolutely anything for a cheeseburger."

With his peripheral vision he sees Kaiba's profile turn toward him slightly. There is a moment of silence, and then he says, "So would I."

Jounouchi stares blankly at him for a second, unable to believe his ears, before bursting into laughter. Kaiba stares back, not quite annoyed, but intense as always. "What?" he asks finally in a low voice, clearly unused to being laughed at. Or with, depending on how you wanted to look at it, though he was definitely not laughing.

"I just, sorry," gasps Jounouchi, taking a deep breath, "you don't really seem like the kind of person who'd -- like that. It was funny."

"I'm not," Kaiba tells him, eyes still slightly bewildered. Well, that's alright then, because as long as he keeps Kaiba confused and off-guard, at least they can't fight. He's far too tired to fight right now, anyway. Jounouchi yawns again, and tries not to shiver visibly.

"I have a question," he says, unsure of whether this is a good idea or not. It's easier to talk now, though, after he's already broken the silence with his -- well, his complete insanity, but at least it was something. Kaiba might ridicule him -- in fact, Kaiba will almost definitely ridicule him, but, he's used to that. And it's too late to back out, now.

Kaiba doesn't reply, but Jou knows he's listening and plows on. "If I go to sleep, I won't freeze to death, will I?"

Something flits across Kaiba's face, too fast and fleeting to make out. Jounouchi squints at him, while trying to pretend that it isn't what he's doing.

"Why would you freeze to death?" Kaiba asks, but not in a mocking way. Jounouchi is surprised. Maybe containment, hunger and fatigue really bring out the best in Kaiba, as illogical as that sounds. "You mean, how you're not supposed to fall asleep in snow?"

"Yeah, sorta," replies Jounouchi, feeling more or less like an idiot, but isn't that how he always feels around Kaiba? It's nothing new, anyway. "I just mean -- if I fall asleep, I want to wake up."

"You will," says Kaiba after a moment, gruff but reassuring, and for just the barest second there's something strange and foreign and soft in his eyes. Jou blinks and it's gone, Kaiba's eyes are just as hard and fathomless as ever. Great, now he's hallucinating on top of everything else.

"I'm not saying I'm for certain going to fall asleep," he tells Kaiba, feeling almost like he has to protest against how Kaiba may be viewing this as a weakness, "it was just -- hypothetical."

"Right," replies Kaiba, unsmiling but somehow not quite as cold as he meets Jou's eyes just briefly, and then turns his gaze to his hands in his lap.

"I'm not even that tired," Jou continues, settling back against the seat. He is _very _tired, actually, but maybe he'll be too cold to fall asleep anyway. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a couple of minutes."

Kaiba snorts very quietly, but doesn't say anything. Probably he does see falling asleep as a weakness, stupid blue-eyed well-postured bastard.

Jounouchi stares into the darkness, trying to will his eyes to stay open. It may or may not be a losing battle. The shadows seem to be closing in, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier as he struggles against the weight and eventually gives in.

"Seriously, just resting my eyes," he informs Kaiba in almost a whisper, and doesn't hear the reply.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Man, thank you guys so much for such nice reviews! Every single one seriously made my day. You guys are totally, totally awesome, and I really hope you like this chapter.

#

Jounouchi wakes up surprisingly warm and comfortable. So warm and comfortable, in fact, that he immediately assumes he must be curled up in his own bed, safe at home with his bedroom door locked, and this whole 'getting-trapped-in-a-snowstorm' thing was just a weird, really vivid dream. However, he doesn't usually sleep sitting up, or with his cheek pressed against a seatbelt holder.

His next thought is that he doesn't actually remember falling asleep.

And, he thinks, suddenly realizing that there is some kind of covering over him, he _definitely_ doesn't remember falling asleep with a _blanket_ over him.

Except, wait. This isn't a blanket.

It's a really expensive-looking coat.

Jounouchi's mouth falls open just slightly as he gingerly touches the fabric just barely hanging on to his right shoulder. The lining inside is soft and slippery, and very possibly real silk.

Jou sits up very straight. The coat falls gently from his shoulder and folds over itself on his lap, sliding across his knees. Maybe, he thinks, this is still a dream. It would make a hell of lot more sense that way, at least.

However, a dull, muted pain in his elbow and the slowly-returning grumble of hunger in his stomach tell a different story.

The car is completely, completely silent but for his own heartbeat and light breathing from Kaiba's side. Jounouchi slides his eyes over and, to his surprise, Kaiba is asleep with his head against the window and his arms crossed over his lap. His tie is askew, which is the only time Jounouchi has ever seen him look other than as if a robot had dressed him. It's weird, and draws his eyes more than he likes.

Kaiba's only wearing a white button-down shirt, now, and Jounouchi thinks faintly that he looks rather cold. But then, Kaiba always looks cold.

He swallows and tries to keep from looking at Kaiba's crooked tie, or the pale skin of his exposed throat, or his slightly disheveled hair. The coat is warm over his thighs, and softly sturdy when he grips it gently with both hands.

Really, this is insane. This entire situation is insane. And obviously he's going completely crazy, losing his marbles, flying over the cuckoo's nest, because there is absolutely no reason why he should continually have to tear his eyes away from the way Kaiba Seto's hair is falling over his eyes.

_He's a jerk_, Jounouchi tells himself firmly, _even if he did give you his coat. Hell, maybe he was trying to smother you in your sleep! You don't know._

Probably, he should even be sort of pissed off at Kaiba for falling asleep. What if neither of them had woken up to turn the heat back on? They could _die_. Of being too cold. Yes, he should definitely be mad at Kaiba, stupid selfish tired bastard. Jou watches him shiver slightly in his sleep, and tries to glare at him.

However, his sudden insanity is making it slightly difficult. Jounouchi almost wishes that Kaiba'd wake up and call him a dog or something, just so he could glare properly, and then they could shout at each other a little and things would feel more normal. In fact, maybe he should expedite that process by making some kind of loud noise, or something.

Although, Kaiba does look surprisingly peaceful asleep. More peaceful than Jou would have ever been able to picture him, anyway.

Jounouchi swallows again, and stares hard at the steering wheel to try and make the insanity go away. It doesn't really work. Honestly, this is ridiculous. He may not hate Kaiba but he definitely doesn't like him, and there's _certainly_ no reason to be watching him while he's asleep. That's just creepy.

Jou is staring at his hands, trying to decide whether or not he should surreptitiously punch him in the shoulder then pretend to be asleep again when Kaiba solves the issue by waking up. It's a quick process: his eyes flutter open and then suddenly he's sitting up very straight, blinking rapidly. His voice sounds thick, and startlingly unguarded.

"Was I -- "

"Yeah," says Jou, slightly more roughly than he has to, to make up for any creepy things he may or may not have recently been thinking. Also because, that little lapse of control could've made them victims of the storm. And no, it doesn't count that Jou fell asleep too, it was basically expected of _him_. There's a difference.

"Oh," says Kaiba, sounding far more like himself as he looks down and straightens his tie. And it's definitely a good thing he did that, because it was basically driving Jou crazy. Now, maybe, he can stop looking at it.

"What time is it?" asks Jounouchi, because he doesn't have anything else to say that isn't completely loopy. It's too hard to do this right now. He wants to punch Kaiba in the face, just because he _always_ wants to punch Kaiba in the face, but he also wants to brush that damn hair out of his eyes and say _Thank you_ _for not letting me become a block of solid ice while I was asleep_. It's contradicting and weird, not to mention completely _insane_, and it's giving him a headache.

"Half-past three," Kaiba tells him, pulling his sleeve back down over his watch. That probably means they should turn the car back on -- no matter what time it is, Jounouchi thinks it's way too damn cold in here to keep it _off_ -- but he doesn't want to say anything. And awake, Kaiba doesn't seem to notice the temperature. It would be a completely flawless act but for the way his knees press together and his fingers curl over one another.

Jounouchi clears his throat, and shakes his hair down over his eyes as he surveys his own hands in his lap. "Uh, thanks for -- for, you know," he gestures at the coat in his lap, unable to look Kaiba in the eyes.

Kaiba doesn't answer immediately, finally saying, "You were shivering. I didn't want a dead body on my hands."

His voice is brisk and low, but Jounouchi looks up just in time to see some fleeting emotion being chased out of his eyes. Kaiba sees him looking and arranges his features into a scowl.

"You were underdressed for this weather to begin with, anyway," he tells him condescendingly, gesturing at Jou's light jacket. And honestly, only Kaiba would feel like he has to _justify_ an act of kindness, and then balance it out with contempt and condescension. Only Kaiba. Jounouchi wants to hit him, and then drape his coat back over his shoulders.

"We can't all have entire wardrobes for every weather possibility," he replies instead, hands still under the coat, where it's very warm. "Do you want this back?"

"You don't even have one winter coat?" Kaiba asks with clear disdain, ignoring his question.

"No, so what?" Jou answers defensively, fisting his fingers tighter in slippery silk.

"So, that's completely insane," Kaiba tells him matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest. It's not, actually, and Jounouchi could tell him a thing or two about what is _truly_ completely insane, but he chooses not to.

"I mean, you could've actually gotten hypothermia if I hadn't picked you up," Kaiba is continuing, eyes settled vaguely somewhere between Jounouchi's lap and the cup-holders between their two seats. "You should really buy a coat, and some gloves or something."

"We also can't all be fucking billionaires," replies Jou, gritting his teeth slightly. This definitely isn't something he wants to talk about, and is Kaiba doing that thing with his hair on _purpose_? "Why did you pick me up, anyway, if you obviously didn't want to?"

Kaiba is silent for a few minutes, while Jou keeps his eyes trained steadily on his hands beneath the coat on his lap.

"I never said I didn't want to," Kaiba says finally, quietly. Jounouchi looks up at him, surprised, and sees that he's moved back against the seat so that his face is cut up into angles and planes by shadows. "But it really has been a hassle," he adds sharply, fingers tapping on his thighs. "I wouldn't do it again."

"A hassle, really?" Jounouchi says, unsure if he even wants his voice to sound sarcastic or not, "and here I've been having the time of my life."

The wind howls outside like a pack of wolves, and Jou tries not to instinctively shiver.

He accidentally meets Kaiba's eyes, then, sharply icy blue on brown, and it is breathtakingly impossible to look away. The sudden silence between them is tense, almost crackling, like the air just before a thunderstorm. It feels like everything he deliberately hasn't been thinking about, a swirling hot mass of contradictions and confusion.

Kaiba's eyes are dark like an ocean at night, unreadable yet completely focused, and Jou tries not to be staggered under the intensity of it. He can actually _feel_ the space between them, pushing on him like a magnetic field.

"You're so annoying," Kaiba says finally, quietly, as if it's just an observation. They're somehow slightly closer together, and Jounouchi doesn't know how he could've moved without realizing it, but his elbow is on the armrest and Kaiba's face is out of the shadows.

"I can't help it," he replies, torn between the desire for violence and the violence of desire. His heart is beating harder than normal, pulse struggling under his skin like a moth's wings beating against a window. "You're a conceited prick," he tells Kaiba, and he has both arms on the armrest now, leaning ever-so-slightly over the barrier between them. They're only inches away, now, close enough for him to see the tiny fringed shadows made by Kaiba's eyelashes on his cheeks.

"You infuriate me," says Kaiba in just the barest whisper, and Jounouchi imagines that he can feel the light breath on his skin. Kaiba's eyes are _so blue_ and cold yet warm, a thousand contradictions. Jounouchi struggles to swallow with Kaiba's breath on his lips, and fights to inhale.

"I hate everything about you," he breathes, and there's something alight and fiery in Kaiba's eyes that spurs his heart into an even faster rhythm.

"I know you do," says Kaiba, and if Jounouchi moves just one inch, they'll be touching. Kaiba's expression is closed yet somehow torn wide open, his lips moist-looking and just slightly parted. One thick sheaf of brown is still swept over his left eye, partly obscuring it, and Jounouchi raises a shaking hand to brush it away. His heart feels like it might actually explode soon, but he doesn't care. Kaiba inhales sharply when Jou's fingers touch his hair, eyes deep and full of a hundred dark, confusing emotions.

"You drive me completely insane," Jounouchi continues, and his fingers are somehow still touching Kaiba's face, just barely resting on the sharp curve of a cheekbone. He didn't do that on purpose, but there it is. No point in moving them now.

The small distance between them is electric, crackling like a live wire. It's anything but cold now, and Jounouchi wonders how he could ever once have been chilled with Kaiba's hot exhales now against his mouth, making his pulse race.

"I can't look at you without wanting to fight," whispers Kaiba with just a hint of a growl, and Jounouchi's fingers are bold on his skin now, pressing against his cheek like they belong there. Kaiba's breath hitches slightly when Jou slides those fingers down to his neck, ghosting across his throat.

And the thing is, Jounouchi _wants_ to fight, to punch or kick or tackle or _anything_ to free him of this incredible crushing tension. It's like fire in his veins, coursing through his body with every pounding heartbeat, and he has to do _something_. Fighting seems like a very viable option.

But instead he fists his hand roughly in Kaiba's tie, pulling him forward, and kisses him violently on the mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

At first they just stay like that, lips pressed together over the barrier between the seats, Kaiba's hair brushing the bridge of Jounouchi's nose. Then suddenly, with no warning, Kaiba has control. His hands come up to cup Jou's face, tongue breaching the barrier of his lips and making Jou inadvertently gasp into his mouth.

Jounouchi's head is spinning, though whether from the lack of oxygen or the mere _insanity_ of this he cannot tell.

His hands are in Kaiba's hair, almost of their own volition, and Kaiba's fingers are hard and hot against his pulse. It's crazy, it's completely _crazy_, because Jounouchi has never thought about this once but at the same time, he knows he's been thinking about it since he first _met_ Kaiba, and it's impossible to even form a coherent idea of what's in his mind. So it's a good thing he doesn't have to think about that, and can just surrender.

Then their mouths aren't together anymore, and Jou is left staring into Kaiba's eyes, from closer than he's ever been to him. Maybe closer than he's ever been to anyone, now that he thinks about it. At least, close with _purpose_.

And the first thing that springs to his mind to say is _Why did you do that_, except he can't say that, because it was _him_ who did it. And he knows exactly why, anyway, even if he can't really think about it.

"I hate you, you know," Kaiba says before Jou can speak anyway, almost conversationally, though his voice is low and slightly breathless. His eyes are wider than usual, and filled with something that Jounouchi can't quite identify but which makes sense. He looks sort of how Jounouchi feels.

"Then why didn't you just let me freeze?" he asks in almost a whisper, although he thinks he already knows the answer.

Kaiba just watches him for a moment, and they're not quite touching but close enough that Jounouchi thinks he can feel the heat from Kaiba's skin. For the first time in Jou's memory Kaiba looks something other than completely in control. Not quite uncertain, but less than sure of himself.

"Because," he says finally, looking at Jounouchi with a strange sort of anger, "I don't actually hate you."

"Oh," replies Jou, like he understands perfectly which, in a weird way, he _does_. This is naturally absolutely lunatic, all of it is one hundred percent crazy and obviously a byproduct of -- claustrophobia, or something, but in this moment, Jounouchi thinks he understands.

He looks at Kaiba, who doesn't actually hate him, although of course he really _does_, otherwise it wouldn't be the two of them, and Kaiba looks back.

"I just hate everything about you," Kaiba says as if in continuation, almost like a provocation, and they're still so close together that Jou can feel the words on his lips. Suddenly, with all the subtlety of an avalanche, it's as if something snaps between them. Some wire barrier which has been stretched tightly between them forever has finally broken, and their lips crush together across the seats again.

And the thing is, Jounouchi has never wanted anything so much in his life.

It's almost as if he had been waiting for this, even though of course he knows he wasn't. But now with Kaiba's tongue in his mouth, fingers threaded hard through his hair, he is aware of something raw and growling and primal rising up in him from the darkest recesses of his psyche. Even as he's telling himself he never wanted this, he knows that he did all along.

It's hot and desperate, Kaiba pulling him across the seat to straddle his lap, steering wheel jabbing into his back. There are fingers pulling at the neck of his shirt and a wet, hot mouth at his ear, sending electric shivers down his spine.

"I don't want this," he assures Kaiba faintly, gasping slightly, even though it doesn't even attempt to sound like the truth. He can't stop the way his hands pull at Kaiba's tie, fingers fumbling desperately at the buttons of his shirt and Kaiba growls something unintelligible in reply. Probably something about how Jounouchi not wanting this is total bullshit, and they both know it.

Jou doesn't even care, to be completely honest.

Kaiba's skin is smooth and hot beneath his shirt, and Jou rips off more than a few buttons on the way down. Kaiba shrugs his shirt off of his shoulders even though it's still clinging at his waist by two buttons, pulling Jounouchi in for another bruising kiss at the same time. There's no time to think, no room for anything but sweat and skin and that burning, crackling electric energy which simultaneously pushes them apart and binds them tighter together.

They can't seem to kiss enough, lips crashing together again and again, separating only for Jounouchi to pull his shirt quickly over his head and throw it aside. Jou can't even think about it anymore. There is only here, and now, and Kaiba's lips and tongue and strong, confident hands making the nerves just below his skin quiver.

"I still hate you," he whispers without thinking, although he doesn't. What they have isn't exactly hate. It's volatile, and it involves wanting to punch at every opportunity and also, equally, wanting to kiss and pretend it's the same thing. It's electric, scorching hot, made of something molten and constantly shifting, impossible to define. Kaiba's teeth graze Jou's pulse, causing his breath to catch sharply in his throat.

"Of course you do," comes the reply, each word hot on his neck. Kaiba's voice is low and dangerous, just barely a snarl. He looks nearly totally calm but for an almost-desperate sneer, the facade betrayed only by that and the way his hands catch at Jounouchi's shoulders, neck, collarbone, like he wants to touch every part of him at once. Jou understands the sentiment. He wants to somehow kiss and bite at the same time, to hurt viciously with an odd, special sort of tenderness.

"I never wanted to kiss you," he tells Kaiba, although that, too, is a lie. The words turn into an involuntary gasp as Kaiba's blunt nails dig into the soft skin of his lower back, probably leaving marks. He doesn't reply, and Jounouchi can't look him in the eye. Instead, he drags his tongue down a sharp collarbone, tasting the salty tang of sweat.

Kaiba makes a noise when he bites down, an undefinable kind of sound caught somewhere between a gasp and a tiny moan. His fingers are still hard on Jounouchi's back, moving to grip his hips and holding him in place. It's all turning into a blur, a strange tumbled mix of wild eyes and hot breath and stumbling, frantic fingers, Kaiba tugging his belt off and Jounouchi fumbling with the unnecessarily complex clasp on expensive suit pants.

There's skin on skin, then, and Jounouchi can't help but choke on a sharp inhale when Kaiba touches him.

"Oh," he says like a long exhale, eyes sliding shut as his head falls forward onto Kaiba's sweaty shoulder, "_oh_."

The air inside the car is humid and almost muggy, and Jounouchi wonders detachedly how he could ever have been afraid of freezing. Everything is bright and out of focus when he opens his eyes, Kaiba's dark eyelashes and parted lips and sharp, hungry-looking eyes. He looks like he wants to say something but doesn't know how, or rather, doesn't _want_ to know how. It's alright, though, because Jounouchi knows anyway.

His wrist crosses Kaiba's and Kaiba's mouth goes slack, eyes sliding to the side and then back to Jou's face as something stutters across his face like heat lightning. He whispers something that sounds like several obscenities, tripping over one another on the way out. Jounouchi can barely think, it's all tight and close-together and Kaiba's fingers, which are the most important thing, but for the way the expression in Kaiba's half-closed eyes is ripped wide open with naked desire.

"Fuck," says Jounouchi, and his voice doesn't even sound like him but there's no room to think about that, "I hate you so much, oh _god_ -- "

"Fucking shut up," Kaiba is groaning, and his bangs are clinging sweatily to his flushed forehead as he squeezes his eyes closed so tightly it almost looks painful. Strangely, Jounouchi wants to kiss him just where those eyelashes brush his cheeks. It's an isolated thought, oddly potent, awash in a wild sea of heat and pleasure and complete abandon.

Even through the haze, like an electric current surging through his veins, he's struck by how _open_ Kaiba looks. He's watching Kaiba Seto unravel thread by thread, he realizes suddenly, and it sends an extra shock straight between his legs.

He never thought he would get to witness Kaiba completely lose control, but he's not going to lie and say he never wanted to.

Kaiba's swearing again, eyes closed and head thrown back, the pale skin of his throat trembling. It's hard to concentrate on any one thing, everything seems to be closing in on Jou as he keeps his hand moving even though he's drowning in an ocean of sensation and heat like a wildfire. It's like being engulfed by the sun, and it's impossible to do anything but _want_.

"Shit," he says, unable to control his words or the wildly varying pitch of his voice, "oh, Kaiba, _oh --_ "

And then it's all heat for a second, spiraling up and up and out of control, like being inside a bolt of lightning. Somewhere, Jounouchi can hear Kaiba make a bitten-off, strangled sort of noise and he can't think of anything except how he never wants anything else.

#

Silence reigns inside the car but for two heaving chests and the sound of quiet panting. The air is still heavy and almost tropical-feeling, and Jounouchi thinks insanely that they should open a window.

Kaiba's cheeks are flushed very pink, lips pushed apart. Jounouchi still can't think. He needs to _say_ something, the reason is unclear, but he really, really needs to say something. Now is probably the part where Kaiba punches him in the face, or he punches Kaiba in the face, or one of them pushes the other out into the snow to freeze. Or at least, that's what's supposed to happen.

Although, actually, Jounouchi doesn't think any of those things really will.

Kaiba's eyes are amazingly, impossibly blue, and Jou can neither meet them nor precisely look away.

"Look," he starts, voice cracking, unsure of where he is actually going with the sentence. Kaiba interrupts him anyway, barely opening his lips to allow the words out.

"Just, just -- be quiet."

He at least needs to shove Jou over onto his own seat, Jounouchi thinks with some amount of wonder. His hand is still anchored on the headrest next to Kaiba's head, the other sticky and kind of vaguely touching his thigh.

"Aren't you going to push me off?" he whispers, forehead hovering somewhere just above Kaiba's naked shoulder.

"If you don't shut up," Kaiba says in almost a matching whisper, "I'll throw you through the windshield."

"Oh," replies Jounouchi, and it seems somehow his head has found a place for itself on Kaiba's shoulder of its own accord, mouth nestled in the juncture where neck and shoulder meet, "alright."

"Good dog," Kaiba barely mumbles, and one of his hands comes down to rest very lightly on Jou's lower back, like a butterfly landing.

"One more thing," says Jounouchi, despite the threat of violent car-ejection, because he needs to know. "We still hate each other, right?"

"Of course," Kaiba replies in a slow, tired whisper, and then it's all dark and quiet and surprisingly warm and for once, everything feels right.

#

**A/N: **Can I just say again, THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING, I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Seriously. TEARS OF JOY, every time. Anyway, this story's just about over, and I really hope you guys liked it.


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